* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Hinduism Tabor Week 3
Survey
Document related concepts
Anglo-Hindu law wikipedia , lookup
Hinduism in Indonesia wikipedia , lookup
Atharvaveda wikipedia , lookup
Vaishnavism wikipedia , lookup
California textbook controversy over Hindu history wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and Hinduism wikipedia , lookup
Women in Hinduism wikipedia , lookup
Neo-Vedanta wikipedia , lookup
Dayananda Saraswati wikipedia , lookup
Hindu–Islamic relations wikipedia , lookup
Hindu views on evolution wikipedia , lookup
Brahma Sutras wikipedia , lookup
Hindu deities wikipedia , lookup
Dharmaśāstra wikipedia , lookup
History of Shaktism wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
HINDUISM: A FAMILY OF BELIEFS WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN? Google Earth AN “-ISM” ? ? ? Prior to the British Period, there was no term “Hinduism.” Vedic Religion Vaishnavism Ṣaktism Local Religions Ṣaivism Dates Period Major Developments Before 2000 BCE Indus Valley Civilization - Fragmentary evidence - 1500-500 BCE Vedic Period Composition of the Vedas – Priestly Religion 500 BCE–500 CE Classical/Axial Age Philosophical Thought Develops; Epics and Upanishads composed 500-1500 CE Medieval Period Devotional Movements; Bhakti literature 1500-1757 Pre-Modern Period Further devotional movements 1757—1947 British Period British Indology Begins 1947–present Independent India Critical India Studies BEFORE 2000 BCE: INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION - VEDIC? – PRE-VEDIC? Religious practices: Ritual bathing/purity, sacrifice, fertility rites (Much like the rest of the ancient world) Beliefs: ?????? The Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro Harapa.com 1500-500 BCE: Vedic Period • “Vedic Religion” – based on sacrificial meals shared with many gods of cosmological realms: earth, atmosphere, sky. Communicate with Gods through fire sacrifices. • Sacred Space: Outdoor fire altar • Sacred Literature: The Vedas • Reciprocal relationship of duties between humans and Gods. • Two theories on the “Aryan Synthesis” • Aryans migrated into the Indus Valley and into the Sub-continent as the dominant cultural force. “Vedic Religion” (Based on the Vedas) = Aryan religion + Indigenous religious of southern India • Aryan culture is a development of Indus Valley Culture, so the Indus Valley culture was already Aryan or Vedic Aryan Synthesis Theory is rooted in Linguistic evidence. • Northern Indian Languages: IndoEuropean • Southern Indian Languages: Dravidian * The history of these cultural and linguistic groups is complex. Cannot be reduced to a simple “invasion” model. * MAJOR TEXTS: ṢRUTI “THAT WHICH IS HEARD” • Vedas (c. 1500 BCE) – sacred wisdom revealed to rishis • Samhitas • Rigveda • Samaveda • Yajurveda • 4th Veda: Atharvaveda (c. 900 BCE) Brahman: Brahman performing a Hindu ritual in Kerala, India. Photograph. Britannica Online for Kids. Web.16 June 2014. <http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-178329>. 500 BCE – 500 CE: THE PURANIC / UPANISHADIC/ “AXIS” AGE • (Buddha dies c. 400 BCE) • Major philosophical developments: Tendency toward universalism • Idea of dharma becomes well-articulated in the Sutras and Shastras • Minimization of Vedic fire sacrifice . . . development of more individual devotional worship (puja) to images in temples. • 3 main traditions develop: • Vaishnavism (Vishnu), • Shaivism (Shiva), • Shaktism (Prakriti – Nature aspect of Brahman) MAJOR TEXTS: SMṚTI “THAT WHICH IS REMEMBERED” • Dharmic Texts • Grammatical Texts • Epics and Puranas • Mahabharata (c. 500 – 100 BCE) Bhagavad-Gita • Ramayana Bhagavad Gita Online, http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/the-bhagavad-gita-in-pictures/gita-104/ MAJOR TEXTS: THE UPANISHADS (12 TOTAL) • Primarily philosophical texts intended to communicate the true nature of reality to anyone willing to become a student • Written in poetic & dialogue format . . . For example: “These rivers, my son, run, the eastern toward the east, the western toward the west. They go from sea to sea. They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river, 2. “In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True. Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again and again. 3. “That which is that subtle essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and you, O Svetaketu, are that.” 1. Chandogya Upanishad, “Section X,” Sophia Project, www.sophiaomni.org Cosmology/ “Essence” Theories of Universe & Reality Social Organization: Politics, Community, Family, Status, Caste, access to power & authority Views of Self & Human Life: Virtue, Vice, Gender, Destiny, Purpose 500 CE – 1500 CE: THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD • Rise of Bhakti • Regional kingdoms with their own, statesponsored religious traditions (e.g. Shaivism or Vaishnavism) • Building of the great temples • Vernacular poetry • New theological developments preached by important gurus Dravida Style Thanjavur Temple Tamil Nadu, India 1947 – PRESENT: INDEPENDENT INDIA • Partition between India & Pakistan in 1947 • Issues: lack of Muslim representation in government; “Hindutva” Ideology • Hindu Diaspora; practicing Hindus around the world, Hindu Gurus in the West; Transcendental Meditation – The Beatles! Mahesh Prasad Varma Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 1918-2008 1757 – 1947: BRITISH PERIOD • Mughal empire falls to the British • Christian missionaries arrive • Cultural westernization • Beginning of “Indology” as a field of study Mohandas Ghandi Biography.com • Hindu reformers, Indian Nationalism, “Hindutva” “Hinduness” as a sociopolitical force – against others, uniting Indians (But not all Indians are “Hindu”!) THEORIES OF REALITY AND THE DIVINE • Brahman • Advaita/Dvaita • Karma • Maya • Samsara • Saguna • Nirguna Baby Krishna Eating Butter Wikimedia Commons WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN IN HINDUISM? “O SVETAKETU, THOU ART THAT.” - CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD 6.8.7 Image by Maheash Nelanka https://www.flickr.com/phot os/maheashnelanka/3647001883/ THEORIES OF SELF • Atman • Varna • Ashram • Dharma • Reincarnation • Moksha REJECTIONS OF VEDIC RELIGION: TWO OTHER DHARMIC RELIGIONS Buddhism • 5th c. BCE • Siddhartha Gautama “The Buddha” • “Middle Way” between Excess and Asceticism • Lay people and Monks Jainism • 7th-5th c. BCE • Primarily ascetic • Principle of ahimsa • Earliest known teacher: Parshvanatha • Emphasis on monks Jainism: statue of Mahavira. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 2 Feb. 2015 1500 – 1757: PRE-MODERN PERIOD • Rise of Islam in the north • Turks and Mughals • Emergence of two different strands of bhakti: nirguna and saguna • “Sant” tradition in the north emerges; influence of Islam on Hindu poets Gita Govinda Manuscript c. 1550